Election letters
Primary ballot observations
To the editor:
As a 19-year resident of Cape Coral, a graduate of the Citizen’s Academy, a seven-year member of the Budget Review Committee serving as chairman, vice-chair and member and a longtime observer of City Council meetings, I make the following observations for our upcoming elections.
District 2
Incumbent Dan Sheppard does not deserve another term. He was in favor of getting rid of the Budget Review Committee. While he claims to be not accepting the stipend, he did nothing to stop it from being enacted. He could have requested that it be pulled from the consent agenda, followed by a discussion and vote. Instead, he went to the bathroom. When voting against the BRC he said that town hall meetings would be better for the community. How many of these has he done? He also voted to keep a former council person on Council even though that person violated the City Charter.
I believe Laurie Lehman is the best choice for District Two. She brings to the table a passion for the main issues facing Cape Coral. She has trust, smart development and public safety as her primary concerns. She believes citizen input should be considered when making decisions.
District 3:
I believe that Dr. Derrick Donnell is the best fit for District Three. He brings previous Council experience to a board that in all likelihood will have several inexperienced members. As an educator he understands the issues that the Charter School System faces. He also is in favor of reinstating the BRC and working to eliminate the stipend. His communication skills will enable him to speak clearly about the issues and to help form a consensus.
District 4:
I am conflicted about this district as two of the candidates appear to be well qualified. I am going to endorse Richard Carr. Yes, he is an incumbent, but he was appointed after the BRC and stipend fiascoes. I have seen him in action at council meetings and he is asking the hard questions and is not a go-along-to-get-along individual. His background in law enforcement is important as the CCPD is a huge part of the city budget and he knows how that department functions and what their needs are.
District 5:
I am in favor of Joseph Kilraine to represent District Five. He has the education and the community involvement that are traits that bring him to the front of the pack. His willingness to be involved in several charitable organizations and be an HOA president is impressive. He has made an extraordinary effort to communicate with the voters.
District 7:
For the general election in November, I believe Rachel Kaduk is the better choice for this district based on her community involvement as a volunteer and in her business life as well. Her communication skills will be important as she works to restore the BRC and eliminate the stipend. Her other priorities include Jaycee Park, affordability and traffic.
George Starner
Cape Coral
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Amanda Cochran for Lee County Commission District 5
To the editor:
I see political ads on social media, and one that caught my attention was for Mike Greenwell, incumbent District 5 County Commissioner. It says: “Tired of Lee County traffic? I have a plan to reduce traffic congestion.” I liked the sound of that, so I went to his website, only to find a list of issues facing Lee County without any real solutions.
I commented on his social media post, “What have you accomplished while in office, and what will you do in the future about our traffic problem?” He did not answer my question and then banned me from his Facebook page. This is the man who represents me in Alva?
Today, I received a text from the Greenwell campaign stating he will fix traffic problems and “fight against overdevelopment.” Really? He just rezoned his 76 acres of agricultural land to commercial, allowing 400,000 square feet of commercial buildings and 122 apartments in rural Alva! He also approved the rezoning of pasture land in Alva so Neal Communities can build 380 units with lots that are 50×100 feet. This doesn’t fit Alva’s look and feel and won’t help our traffic problems.
It appears that Mr. Greenwell has no interest in helping the community and every interest in his own personal wealth. He would fit in perfectly in the Washington, D.C. swamp, but within the simple, quiet life of Alva, this will not do.
Please join me on Aug. 20 and vote for Amanda Cochran.
Keith Durling
Alva
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Parents must vote in a better school board on Aug. 20
To the editor:
The Lee County School Board has been failing our children. Comprised of mostly non-educators, the current board has failed to stem the drastic teacher shortage, has gone beyond state mandates to remove books from classrooms, and rejects a culture of tolerance and inclusion. This in a district that has a 60% minority enrollment.
The unprecedented teacher shortage in Lee County is well documented. Our teachers are overworked and underpaid. We do not have an adequate pool of substitute teachers to fill gaps.
We need to put people on our School Board who support the pillars of public education, who understand that excellent schools don’t ban books; that schools should be safe and healthy environments that are conducive to learning; and that schools should honor diversity, challenge inequality, and model democracy.
There are new three candidates who genuinely support excellent public education. Two of them, Kaitlyn Schoeffel (District 3), and Sheridan Chester (District 7) are former educators from Lee County. The third, Carol Frantz, a longtime resident of Lee County, wants to take politics out of education and is in the race to advocate for competitive salaries for teachers and to improve the quality of education in District 2.
Aug. 20 is the date to vote for new school board members.
Let’s do better. Vote on Aug. 20th for a nobler school board.
Sara Braun
Bonita Springs
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Elect Mucarsel-Powell to the U.S. Senate
To the editor:
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Joe Biden. July 21, 2024. Of course Mike Johnson, Republican Speaker of the House, wants to and may sue to have Biden resign with 6 months left in his term as POTUS. That would make Mike Johnson second in line to become POTUS! And he could refuse to certify the next Election results. End result: The oligarchs and Republicans have accomplished the goal of overturning our Democracy.
President Biden chose, trained and has endorsed his VP, Kamala Harris, to be his successor to defeat the fascist oligarch elements attempting the takeover of our Republic. The oligarch-owned Republicans also intend to destroy our international safety net with NATO. Read Project 2025. And be terrified.
Harris has been a brilliant, successful prosecutor, former U.S. Senator and will continue to be a devoted public servant to protect the interests of the American working class from the greedy instincts of the extremely wealthy class of the Federalist Society. Those wealthy individuals are currently making the laws in our “so-called” Democracy. I say “so-called” because thanks to the SCOTUS Citizens United decision, our elections have now come down not to one person=one vote, but $1=1vote. This is so wrong on so many levels. The Citizens United decision by Federalist Society “conservative” appointed extremist far-right SCOTUS judges on the court has allowed the wealthy class to spend unlimited amounts of money buying legislators who vote to lower their taxes, keep themselves in power, pack our courts with judges like Aileen Cannon (who have no experience, knowledge or respect for the rule of law), pollute our water and air, and abolish women’s, worker’s and voter’s rights.
The American people need Supreme Court reforms as one of our first priorities. But if the future POTUS is Kamala Harris, she needs a House and Senate to support the Democratic Party platform in order to make lasting reforms in our courts, abortion rights, gun control and climate change.
Floridians can support Harris by electing Debbie Mucarsel-Powell to replace the corrupt Rick Scott who plans to — again — purchase his Senate seat with his own private wealth — money he obtained by perpetrating historic medicare fraud in his health care company and self-dealing while in office to become a billionaire.
Integrity and decency still matter. Give Harris the support she needs to beat back the Authoritarianism proposals of the extreme Project 2025 agenda.
Vote your own best interests and the Democratic platform at every opportunity while you still can.
Vote to elect Debbie Muscarel-Powell to US Senate.
Lynn A. Hagedorn, MD
Cape Coral